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Sunday, August 17, 2008

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Ladies and gentlemen of the cake community, I come to you today with a matter of grave concern to us all.

Allow me to present exhibit A:

These seemingly innocent "cakes" are instead a threat to all the sugary goodness we hold dear. Observe:

Once sliced, you will note that these "cakes" are not cakes at all. Instead, they are layers of various meat and mayo-based salads, bread, and then - here's the worst part - "iced" with creamcheese. Note how the creators of these twisted impostors then push the deception even further by decorating the "cakes" with little roses, vines, and piped borders.

I ask you, fellow carb-lovers, are we to allow such cake defamation to stand? Will we sit idly by while our children and grandchildren are subjected to cakes that are not cakes? And if so, what next? Liverwurst doughnuts? Tuna-filled eclairs? Meat pies? (Oh, wait...)

Nay, I say, nay! We shall rise up, and as one declare that our butter cream icing must remain unsullied, our baked goods pure in sugar. Join me, and together we can make our world a place of fat, sugar, and dairy-based products for all!

Actually, that sounds pretty mouth-watering to me. Except for the cream cheese icing which I hope is flavoured with something savoury. I like looking at fancy cakes but I don't have a sweet tooth. I wonder if I can get someone back home to make these things. :)

We once went to a wedding in Sweden and were victims of this terrible ploy. It looked like cake. It wasn't. Instead it was layers of mayonnaise, white bread, a bologna-like ground substance, cucumbers and SHRIMP! It was one of the most horrifying experiences of my life.

Before we get our nickers in a double knot here, I believe that we should think of our Diabetic and Hypoglycemic brothers and sisters. With one of these cakes they too can finally have thier cake and actually be able to eat it too. Besides, one of the "cakes" I have made had Meatloaf on the inside and was frosted with mashed potatos. I even dyed the potatos yellow, pink and green and decorated it with flowers and greenery. It went for $50.00 at an April Fools cake auction.

They're very pretty....but quite disturbing. How to do we know now the next time we go to a dinner party and see what we think is a beautiful dessert table only to discover that it is in fact the main course! 0.o

I'd far more likely enjoy a cake that looked like a pizza or a bowl of spaghetti & meatballs (which I've had, and it was awesome) than eat a sandwich that looks like dessert! And that's just plain mean to little kids!

Good grief. Are those back again? (I remember them from my mom's garden club luncheons: "Party Sandwich Loaf," the recipe in her cookbook said. But then they went away, and I was hoping they would stay gone.

Oh, now that's just wrong. There ain't no sense in that kind of foolishness. I tell ya what, if someone tried to pull that crazy stuff on me, at a party, I'd be forced to kick 'em in the shins. You don't go messin' with cake around a big girl.

This one, well....I have to say it (cliche and all!)...it takes the cake (and wrecks it). This is seriously a crime against HUMANITY.

Imagine the psychological damage these people are doing. You're at a party, looking for a decent sugar hit to keep you from killing the other boring guests. You take a slab of cake, only to realize...you're eating spam mousse! Talk about post traumatic cake syndrome. I also love how they show it served with fruit salad.

Eeekk!!

Love the site, you're keeping me very amused at what my fellow pastry chefs get up to! (bringing shame on the community, basically.)

I had the misfortune of shoving a huge forkful of a similar decepticake into my mouth at a wedding shower. I think I was six and I was so alarmed, I ran to my mom crying "THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE CAAAAKE!"

This is heinous! Being an insane lover of cake and totally ANTI meat.. This is my 'accidentally ate meat' worst nightmare! How can they do this? Is there not some sort of cake police? Cant we call PETA?!?!

Oh come on. Are you telling me that there are no sandwich cakes where you live? They are just great!

After all, they don't even compete with sugary cakes. A sandwich cake is something to satisfy your appetite after boring ceremonies or a couple of hundred miles traveling to the occasion. You just have to eat it as a salty snack, not a sweet one.

Oh, my. Some characters made this in, I believe, a crappy old Donna Parker novel, so it's a crappy old idea, not a crappy new one. They were very pleased with their own cleverness. The only thing that could make it semi-right is if there were also cakes that looked like sandwiches.

Actually these "sandwich cakes" are quite popular at least in northern Europe, and they have been around for long time. It is usual to decorate it with the main engredient, for example ham slices or smoked salmon, so that people know what is served. I usually make a fish sandwich cake with two fillings, smoked salmon with mayo and boiled eggs with butter.

Sandwich cakes can be really delicious, so I wouldn't call them wrecks, but a sandwich cake decorated with roses would indeed be a wreck. You should be able to recognize that you are not taking a slice of a sweet creamfilled wonder.

If you don't like those cakes (bread/mayo/meat/cream cheese sounds appealing to me) then you probably will hate the breakfast cake at http://veripolis.blogspot.com/2008/06/breakfast-cake.html. Part of this complete nutritious breakfast!

Um, OMG. I started out thinking, "What's the matter with those cakes? They look delicious!"...until I read that they were filled with "various meat and mayo-based salad". Then I threw up a little in my mouth :X

That is the most nauseating thing I have ever seen. I don't know what's worse, the mouthful of meat products and (seemingly from the looks of the photo) egg salad inside, or the thought I initially had that the whole thing was covered in a layer of mayonnaise, not cream cheese (which is also gag-inducing).

The concept of a meat "cake" just makes me want to gag. Gross. Can you imagine how surprised one would be thinking that is a scrumptious cake and, in the midst of party convo, just mindlessly taking a bite without looking... expecting a sweet and getting meat, mayo and cream cheese. That's just... just... vomitous.

I guess it's only fair to have savory food dressed up as cake, when this bakery disguises cupcakes as savory food. Gotta love peas and carrots, mashed potatoes, and even chicken drumsticks made of cupcakes, frosting, and candy!

I stumbled upon your blog today and have read every single post already. I have laughed so hard that I am crying and my 3 year old daughter just said, "what's wrong, mommy?" Ok, time to step away from the computer.This is awesome and I will SO be back.Kudos, my bloggy friend.

These look disgusting, but I've seen a meatloaf cake covered with mashed potatoes that looked pretty good. At least if people knew what it was first. Taste cognitive dissonance is just plain cruel. I'd never want to eat cake again!

I think this is a fabulous concept - especially in a scenerio where a lot more cake is served (perhaps at a themed occasion). Like a terrine, it has the potential to make for really great plate presentation, great colors, and varying textures. I would, however, think the "frosting" decorations would be more creative - more appropriate for the filling or something.Then again, I have been known to make a batch of eclairs and fill 3 or 4 with mayo and pickle relish or mustard...

I think this looks awesome and I want to know where you find one! Although I admit, if I thought I was getting actual cake and I got this instead I'd probably toss my cookies. I've never seen meatcakes before but in college they would serve this evil decepticake that we called Chocolate Surprise because when you bit into to it, "Surprise, it's raisin!" Post traumatic cake syndrome, indeed!

I have to try the breakfast cake someone linked to, that looks awesome! (Only I'd use tomatoes instead of red peppers. Love the site, thanks for keeping my laughing!

If people want meat cakes, okay, fine. It's probably not that weird, if you think of them as a sandwich with the spread on the outside. (Personally, I think they look like they belong in the Gallery of Regrettable Food, but we all have our own taste.)

It's the flowers, though. The flowers mess with your head. If I'm looking for a bite to eat, I'm not usually also looking for a side of psychological experiment.

Apart from the design, not too bad. But, then again, where I'm from this isn't that big of a deal. Sweden and Finland seems to inhabit the biggest fanbases for these oh so lovely creations. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smörgåstårta for reference.

One cannot have light without darkness. I assume these cakes are in response to some other cakes you highlighted previously: http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2008/06/i-think-this-needs-whole-new-category.htmlPersonally, I would like to have the meat-cake as an entree and the meat-looking-but-real-cake as dessert :)

I maybe biased because I HATE mayonnaise, and the thought of eating egg salad makes me want to cry, but that description honesly made me sick to my stomach. Who are these sick people creating these things?

This cake should come with a warning! Also, talk about false advertising!!!!!!!!! If this isn't a crime it sure should be! How grossly unfair - to expect a piece of sweet cake and frosting and get a mouthful of..... BLICH!!

This is so very wrong on so many levels as numerous other fans of your blog have pointed out. I agree. Off with their.... ?? Heads? Hands? Whatever!

This reminds me of the time I went to serve up my sister some vanilla ice cream, but in just the spoon I put a scoop of mashed potatoes. I handed her the cold dish of very innocent ice cream, she put the spoonful o' spuds in her mouth, which was immediately proceeded by opening her mouth and letting it just fall out... into my quick reflexed hand.

It makes for a good JOKE, not something you'd really serve! What's the purpose of making meat/cream cheese, etc look like a baked good? Just nicely present it as what it is so there's no question! SICK.

No! No! No!I say let your sweets be sweet and your savories be savory. And NEVER the twain shall meet!Regardless of my enjoyment of both, I do not want a sandwich that looks like a cake; nor do I want a cupcake that looks like spaghetti or mashed potatoes. (They're out there, people!)What is this world coming too?!?

Oh, these were really popular in the 70s. My mom, the gourmet cook (seriously, no sarcasm) had an entire cookbook full of these kind of things. A particular favorite was a salmon mousse that was chilled in a fish-shaped cake pan. Then you'd make the eyes with a green olive (with pimiento). I had nightmares about fish for years.

Seriously - what's with all the hating? Like some fellow Nordsmen have already pointed out, smörgåstårtor/sandwich cakes can be gobsmackingly delicious and are generally considered to be quite a treat.

It's just like a big sandwich, with lots of filling, and you eat it with a fork. You people like sandwiches, don't you? Hmm? Don't you?

And as for the whole "eww! Gross, meat cake!"-thing, the vegetarian ones are just as nice.

Although, they normally don't look like dessert cakes. That is properly wrong.

I used to love it when my mom would make these though she would never try to pass them off as a sweetened cake. I think they were always "decorated" with carrot flowers with sliced olive centers. Very 70's and surprisingly good.

It looks cool, but the fact of the matter is... If I had walked over to a cake and sliced it thinking I was getting cake to discover meat once I'd laid it on my plate, I would have been a very unhappy party goer lol.

I don't get why everyone here is saying they're disgusting. Sure some of them are vegetarian so would no doubt dislike anything that had meat in it but a for the rest do they normally throw up when someone offers them meat or egg salad something? It's not like the combination of ingredients is odd, they're all things you regularly find on salad and buffet tables.

Do all your readers live on sugar alone that their reaction is OMG meat and salad stuff, I threw up in my mouth, why would anyone ever eat that?!

These are rarely served *as* actual cakes. The appearance is a trick, sure, but they're rarely intended to be served without telling people what they are.

I had the unfortunate experience of eating one of these at a baby shower -- expecting something sweet. That first piece was torture. After I knew what it was, I actually enjoyed it. There should be a caveat for all consumers.

I love that cake! That is like my favorite kind of cake! I'm gonna' go make one. Right now. I like to do anchovies with curry in the blender and make a nice mush of it for one of the layers. Oh yes, I do.

Just kidding. My gag reflex is officially kicking in.

Oh, I saw a variation of that evil cake made with mashed potatoes for the frosting. I could potentially stomach that. But the fact that it looked like birthday cake was pretty upsetting.

I'm quite surprised now, I must say. I'm a cake lover from Finland, and this post is shocking. Why? 'Cause we have them. Everywhere. In every party, there's usually at least one of those. So, it came as a surprise, that they are not seen in parties there, overseas.

They can be horrible, but usually, those salty cakes are actually quite good. I remember, when I was little and very disappointed, when I realized what it was, but nowadays, I like them. Come on, a little bread, ham, mayonnaise... When you think of it like that, it doesn't sound that awful, does it?

I think the late George Carlin predicted these (from his "Ice Man" routine): ..."You literally do not know what it is. Could be meat, could be cake. Usually, at a time like that, I'll bluff. "Honey, is this good?" "Well, what is it?" "I don't know. I've never seen anything like it. It looks like...meatcake!"

You guys are pretty funny with your disgust. Cakes like this might be an oddity in the US but in other parts of the world, like in Northern Europe, they are very common and a standard at party buffets. I dislike the taste myself, but like Heikki said before, they shouldn't even be seen as cakes but as a big, decorated sandwiches.

I agree that the icing and decoration on these particular "cakes" posted here is VERY misleading, though. Over here the sandwich cakes are decorated with savoury stuff like meat, eggs and fish so you know what you're getting.

The people who keep saying they don't understand why the reactions of disgust, it's because they are made to LOOK like cakes, decorated just like a sweet cake. When one expects to bite into a desert and gets mayo/bread/meat-salad instead, it IS disgusting. Yes I like sandwiches, but I'm not biting into a sandwich with the thought that it's a torte!

When and how things are presented can make a big difference. For example, I absolutely love spaghetti and meatballs with zesty sauce and garlicky bread.. but first thing in the morning if someone put that under my nose I'd more than likely feel like hurling. Say you're taking a spoonful of what looks like vanilla pudding and it turns out it's some sour cream cream dish?

The whole point is that these are cake impostors. You look at them and take a bite expecting cake with sugary sweet icing only to get a mouth full of mayo/cream cheese tastes. That is the cause for most of the posts of disgust I'd say.

Frankly, anyone who's dim enough that they manage to get a piece of this from the platter, to their plate, to the fork, and finally to their mouth without realizing what it is and isn't deserves to get a surprise. The world would be a better place if people were more observant.

This reminds me of a Friends' episode when Rachel tries to cook but, because of a sticky page she didn't notice, she ends up mixing a dessert recipe with a meatcake one. The result is a mix of jello with peas, onions and cream. Accurately Ross says it "tastes like feet".

In my corner of the world, we have a dish called "sandwich cake", which has bread, cream cheese (different savoury flavors), mayo and vegetables, chopped meat, tuna and whatnot as a filling.

As a matter of fact, I served one this weekend as a lunch item on my birthday party: garlic cream cheese and finely minced smoked deli ham as a filling, moistened with tomato juice and topped with tomato-basil cream cheese and decorated with various goodies.

These cakes are the answer to the ‘steak cake’ posted somewhere else in this blog (yuck). I’d be SO angry to be offered a travesty like this at a party – my first reaction would be to think the host was out to get a laugh at the guests' expense (an even bigger yuck, at least for me). When I want a savory snack, I’ll have an honest one that is not ashamed of being itself, thank you very much. This is not to say I can’t get the idea of sandwich cakes in N. Europe parties, bridge parties from the fifties', etc. – I bet they’re quite a treat *when you know what you will be getting from the start*. It’s all about truth in advertising, people.

These are actually pretty tasty, but I don't think they should be decorated as cakes. If one must decorate one, one really should pipe "Warning: this is meat" on it.Rosebuds optional. Now little marzipan chickens and pork chops would be awesome.

While I don't find these appealing by any means, I have been sufficiently desensitized by my husband's weird food mixtures. One of his ideas is to use a Betty Crocker Bake 'n Fill cake pan, using a cake mix for the outer layer and hamburger for the center.

My aunt makes these abominations. She doesn't put rosettes on them, but once frosted with mayo and decorated with olives, they do look like a cake. She makes like 7-8 layers of white bread sliced lengthwise with tuna salad, olive pate, cream cheese with chives, red pepper spread, ham salad, and if you haven't thrown up yet: prune jam. With tuna, folks.

Ya know, my grandfather adored this dish- we had it every year for his birthday (yes, followed by real cake for dessert). We didn't expect that it would be "cake." It's called sandwich loaf. I didn't care for the cream cheese when I was younger, but it grew on me as I got older. Most of the folks commenting here seem as if they would be horrified at the idea of a bagel... "I mean you bite into it, expecting that sugary greasy burst, and what the hey, not only is it just chewy bread, hot and crispy at that, it's not frosting either- it's (gasp) cream cheese. C'mon, open your minds a little, folks.

hey, what do you have against sandwiches? ;) I never thought that a sandwich cake can be so shocking to somebody. Of course the decoration of this one here is a bit... odd, but when you have a piece, you certainly see what it is.

By the way, it was nice to find out from these comments that besides Estonia where I'm from, these cakes are known from Finland to Brazil and from Sweden to Québec :)

I SO need to make this for my carb-junkie friends!!! Of course, first I have to find a substitute for the bread....hummmmmm (Yes, low carbing for the last year has made me skinnier AND eviler! Bwaa haa haa!!!)

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